Dhamar is a governorate of Yemen. The visitor enters Dhamar governorate about
70 km south of the Sana’a airport.
The center of the governorate is about 100 km from Sana’a, the capital of the Republic.
The governorate sits among a number of other governorates: Sana’a to the north and northeast,
al-Bayda’ to the east, Ibb to the south,
and Raymah and al-Hudaydah to the west.

The governorate’s climate is temperate, although the central and eastern sections of the
governorate tend to be cold during the winter, while the valleys and western slopes are warmer. The
average temperatures range from 10 to 19 °C in summer, and from 8 to -1 °C in winter.

The governorate in general lies 1600-3200 m above the sea level, with a topographic relief
that varies from high mountains to deep valleys, upland plains and plateaus. The most mountain peaks
include Isbil, al-Lisi, Duran, the two Wusab mountain ranges, and the Utamah mountains. Jahran, in
the north central part of the governorate, is its most extensive plain.

The great challenge for the Sana'a government was to bring the country into
the modern world without relinquishing its independence and its traditions, which were still deeply
anchored in the life of some eight million Northern Yemenites.
The home of great civilisation. North Yemen did not wanted to lose its identity.

In "My" days (1979), Yemen was
infact two
States: the North was the Arab Republic of
Yemen whose capital is Sana'a. This is the
country I was dealing with.The South was the
Peoples Democratic Republic of Yemen whose
capital was Aden. This administrative and
political division was soon be a thing of the
past. Both leaders signed an agreement in
Tripoli on November 28th 1972 with a view to
a fusion of their respective countries in the
near future. There were no historical reasons
up to the British occupation of the Southern
part of the country in 1839, nor were there
any cultural, economic or social reasons.
The two countries were formally united as
the Republic of Yemen on May 22, 1990.

Drawings were made at the
Amsterdam office.

The project comprises a hospital
complex and staff housing. The housing, located to the south of the complex and separated by a road,
is made up of four three-storey blocks of one-bedroom aparments and seven three-bedroom, two-storey
houses.
The organisational layout of the complex is based on the separation of men and women.
Traditional building solutions to local climatic conditions are adapted by the use of massive walls
and roofs to provide internal thermal comfort, and courtyards to create suitable microclimatic
conditions. Load-bearing concrete block walls support upper floors and roofs of reinforced concrete.

Finished in 1982.

Second time on site,
November 1979.
Digging trenches by the contractor Wimpey Offshore.
My mate put the sewer pipes
in place.
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